FE3H Borrowersverse
by Rose Jennison
Summary: This is a series of stories set in an alternate universe where some of the characters from Fire Emblem Three Houses are borrowers that live at the monastery. The borrowers have evolved to fit their unique situation at the monastery, and have managed to remain mostly unseen. But we know that won't last...
1. Midnight Grocery Run

The kitchen staff liked Claude.

Well, at least that's what Claude believed. None of the cooks or clean up crew had ever expressly said that they liked him, but he'd managed to get each of them to smile at least once and a few even laughed at his jokes. He'd yet to do either with the head chef, but he was under the impression that she scolded him less compared to other noble children, which was telling. So he didn't feel at all uncomfortable asking a question when he saw the head chef do something curious.

All the students at the monastery were assigned various chores on different weeks, and this was his first week to help in the kitchens. So here he was, helping clean up after dinner, when he noticed something peculiar. The head chef was setting aside some of the leftovers, and putting them on a small cloth. She started to tie it up, and Claude assumed she was going to take it home with her, but instead of putting it in her apron pocket she placed it on a high shelf in the kitchen.

"That should be enough." She said.

"Enough for what?" Claude asked.

"Not 'what' boy, 'who'." The elderly woman gave him a stern look. "Surely someone with your upbringing has heard about the little servants."

"Ah, of course. I should have guessed." Claude replied breezily. "I didn't get quite the same upbringing as some of my fellows, but my mother did tell me some about them." This was not entirely false. His mother had mentioned something, but it was always in relation to how the story of the 'Goddess's Little Servants' sounded similar to a children's tale told to him by his father. But with the tone she had taken, it wouldn't do to sound completely naive about the subject.

"I'm certainly glad you were." Another cook piped up. "Raised different I mean. I could barely get that Gloucester boy to touch the dirty dishes, much less wash them. You may drop half of them, but at least you don't whine the whole time."

"I aim to please." Claude said with a cheeky grin. The man huffed, but it sounded more amused than annoyed.

"You'll please me when you learn to stop dropping the plates." the cook said.

"In that I shall bow to your experience. Teach me your ways, Master of Dishes." Claude said, voice deep and grand. He was rewarded with a smile from the cook as he got back to washing.

* * *

After his duties for the day were done, he made his way to the library. He had classwork to do of course, but first he would look for any mention of this 'little servants' story. If it was a common enough belief that the monastery workers didn't bat an eye at someone following it by leaving food out, it was probably something he should know about if he wanted to keep up his pretense of being native to Fodlan.

He came across what he was looking for once he found a book of Church of Seiros stories that didn't focus exclusively on the saints. According to the text he found, 'The Goddess's Little Servants' were beings that the Goddess had bestowed upon places she favored in order to bless them. The little servants were said to help with the upkeep of the buildings they inhabited, especially by repelling pests and vermin. They were said to be especially prevalent in churches, so most places of worship had designated places to leave offerings of thanks to them. Since they were a blessing from the Goddess, signs of them were seen as good fortune, but trying to catch a glimpse of them would anger them. Which could cause them to leave and take their good fortune with them.

Well, after reading that he could definitely see what his mother meant about this tale and his father's being similar. Claude's father had told him stories about small creatures that lived in all the secret or hidden places of the world, be they in the wild or in your own house. In the Almyran version, the ones that lived in houses would help the house's larger occupants by finding lost things and putting them out in the open. Only if they liked you though, if they disliked you they would keep things you lost as their own.

Claude was thoughtful, as he closed the book. Two peoples, two tales of small beings, which had likely come about as a way to explain away where little things sometimes disappeared to and why you sometimes found them much later. Claude found it pretty amusing, actually, that two peoples who believed themselves to be so different from each other had found such similar ways of explaining away one of life's 'little' mysteries. For a while he figured that's all there was to it, and his curiosity was satisfied.

At least it was until more strangeness started to crop up. When he went to work in the kitchen's the next day, he noticed that the shelf the chef's offering had been placed on now only held a folded up cloth. Claude figured that one of the previous workers had thrown the old food out, or maybe fed it to the cats. But no matter how early he got to the kitchens, even if he was the first one there in the morning, the food was still gone. Then sometimes the cloth would be gone too, and the chef would just get out a new one like this was a common occurrence as well.

For Claude, this raised questions. Where was the food going? Surely no animal was making off with it, with the cloth folded so neatly, so it had to be a person taking it. But who would it be? The chef seemed to believe enough in the little servants not to touch it herself, so was it one of the cooks? Did one of the clergy come around and take such offerings in order to keep the story alive? Was there truly something 'other worldly' taking the offerings made after each supper time?

Claude had never been able to resist a good mystery. Even if he had bigger ones to worry about while at the academy, he didn't see the harm in taking a night to try and figure out this one. He remembered perfectly well that the text he'd found had cautioned against trying to see the little servants, but he'd also never been one to follow directions if they got in the way of his investigations.

So one night, after the kitchen had been closed down and everyone else had gone home for the day, Claude sneaked in. With only the moonlight shining through the windows, there were plenty of shadows for him to hide in, and he was able to find a perch that allowed him to watch both the door and the shelf with the bundle on it. It was quiet for a long while, but he didn't let his focus wander. This wasn't so different than keeping watch at night, and he had experience with that from both before and after he started attending the academy.

A few hours into his watch, Claude heard a sound that stood out from the nighttime stillness. It wasn't the footsteps he'd been expecting; it sounded more like stone scraping on stone. But it was a light sound too, one he probably wouldn't have heard if he wasn't fairly close to it. Because it wasn't coming from the direction of the dining hall, but from somewhere in the kitchen. Movement caught his eye, and Claude focused exclusively on the shelf. A part of the brick that sat just behind the bundle slid backwards, leaving a small, dark hole in the wall. A second later, something emerged from the darkness.

It was a person. A tiny person, one that he probably could pick up in a single hand. He couldn't see much of them in the dim lighting, but the proportions definitely spoke to a person, not some kind of animal. So did the way the tiny person knelt down and heaved the bundle of food onto their back before disappearing back into the darkness. The brick slid back into place, making it seem completely solid once again.

_'Well,'_ Claude thought to himself, staring at the spot where the tiny person had vanished _'when the book said 'little servants', I honestly didn't expect it to be so literal.'_

Once again, his mind began to fill up with questions. Just how much of the tale of the 'Goddess's Little Servants' was true? How much of his own father's story was true? Where had the person taken that food? Surely they couldn't eat it all, the sack was almost as big as they were. Were there more little people hiding somewhere? How many? How did they live without anyone seeing them? Had people seen them but decided to ignore it due to what the legends said? Did they have communities? A society? Could they speak the same language as the people of Fodlan? Could they speak at all?

There was no way he'd be able to get to sleep with all those questions running through his head. Which meant there was only one thing to do.

Claude got up from his position, his stiff muscles protesting after being in one place for so long. He stretched them out, then he hopped up and sat on the counter top. With his back to the wall, his head was about the same height as the shelf, perfect for a face to face conversation.

He didn't have to wait nearly as long this time. With his head next to the wall, and his hearing strained, he was able to hear the little person's approach sooner than he had before. The little scratching sounds could easily be mistaken for mice, and he wondered if that's more troublesome or fortunate for the little servant. Having an easily explainable alternative to the sounds of your own movement would help with keeping people from suspecting the truth, but people also didn't want rodents around their home if they could help it. Now he was wondering how this little person dealt with traps and cats.

He regained his focus when he heard the stone scraping, and the bit of brick started sliding back. He was closer now, so he could see a lot more details as the person stepped out. From the look of it, it was a tiny woman, one with long dark hair and pale skin. She wore dark clothes that fit close to her body; which was exactly what he would expect someone to wear when sneaking around. It sort of reminded him of the outfits he'd seen that knight Shamir wear when she was leaving on a solo mission.

As expected the woman had the cloth folded up in her hands. Even folded smaller, it looked like a bolt of fabric in her arms rather than a dish towel. She knelt to set it on the shelf, and Claude couldn't help himself.

"Come here often?" He asked casually.

He'd made an effort to be quiet as he said it, but you wouldn't have guessed based on how the woman reacted. She immediately jumped up and faced him, dropping the cloth and yanking something from her side in one fluid motion. She dropped into a familiar stance, and that's when he realized what she was now holing. He almost laughed in disbelief. It was a sword, one perfectly sized for her. If he wasn't mistaken, it was a rapier, or something in a very similar style. The clothes were impressive enough, how did she get her hands on something like that?

"Hey, easy now, I don't bite. I promise." Claude said, giving her a charming smile. She stared at him, blank faced and stiff.

"You aren't supposed to be here." She finally said, her voice coming out a bit deeper than he had expected. Well, that answered a few of his questions right there.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. But here I am, and here you are. If people 'aren't supposed to be here' then what are you up to? Or is it just me that's out of place?"

She stayed still and didn't reply. He thought he might have seen her frown slightly, but it was hard to tell with such small features in the dark. The only part of her face that he could clearly see were her eyes, since they caught the stray rays of moonlight.

"What's up? Mouse got your tongue? Or maybe a cricket?" he asked, smirking now.

Still nothing. Maybe a change in tactics would help. He allowed his smile to shift into something a bit more self deprecating.

"Sorry about this, it was kinda rude of me to just show up, huh? Especially since I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Claude von Reigan." He nodded at her, and she shifted back a step at the movement. "May I have your name, my lady?"

Her eyes scanned him up and down, and her sword arm lowered slightly. "I shouldn't talk to you. Are you going to try anything if I leave?"

"I'm not going to try grabbing you, if that's what you mean." He'd be lying if he said a part of him didn't want to. Watching her was almost like watching a doll come to life. He'd seen inventors show off small automatons back home, but none of them had ever moved in such a life like manner. But with the way she reacted to his nod he was pretty sure that trying anything more would only make her retreat, or slash at him with that sword. He didn't want either of those things to happen. He needed his fingers; it would be hard to draw his bow without them. "Look, I get it. You guys aren't supposed to be seen or really talk to people right? It sorta breaks the mysticism of the whole 'Goddess's Little Servants' story. So now that someone has seen you, you have to figure out what, if anything, you're going to do." He winked at her. "Well, you don't have to worry about it. I'm excellent at keeping secrets, especially with the right motivation."

"Motivation?" she asked cautiously.

"Well, I'm a curious soul by nature. So I can't really come across something like this and then just stop thinking about it, and if I'm so preoccupied thinking about you and your story then my classwork will suffer. So I was hoping you'd help me out by agreeing to come talk to me sometime. You agree to that, and I'll gladly keep this encounter to myself."

She stared at him, clearly deliberating on his suggestion. "You just want to talk?"

"Yep."

"...I can agree to that." She said, finally coming out of her battle ready stance. "You are a noble, correct? That means your room would be on the second floor of the dormitories."

This time, it was Claude's turn to be put off balance. "Wait, are you suggesting we meet up in my room? You can get all the way up there?"

"I can."

"Um, how?"

"I have excellent stamina."

Not quite the answer he was looking for, but he could address that later. "I see. Well, that would work better than meeting down here so late. At least it would for me, but I figured you'd want to take it easy and just come here like you usually do."

"I'm not always the one who comes to do this task, and this place is too public for long conversation. I've already stayed too long as it is."

_'So there are others besides her.' _Claude filed that tidbit away. "Well, when can I expect to see you then?"

"The evening after next, if you are available."

Oh he would make himself available. "Definitely. I look forward to it." He gave her his best smile, and she merely nodded in acceptance. He told her which room was his, and she nodded again.

"I will be there. Thank you for your discretion."

"Of course, my lady." He nodded at her again, in semblance of a bow, and she didn't move back this time.

"Byleth."

"Hm?"

"You asked for my name. It is Byleth Eisner."

He grinned, the expression feeling much more natural now. "Nice to meet you Byleth."

"Likewise, Claude. I will see you later." With that, Byleth turned and walked back into the wall. A moment later the brick slid back into place, and all was still.

The grin lingered on Claude's face as he watched her disappear.

"See you later, By."

* * *

**A.N.**

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.

This series is being inspired by a couple things. The story of AceTrainerHope called "The Rabbit and the Hawk" first got me into the idea of mixing FE3H with the borrowers, and I got some additional ideas from this post on smolgloves tumblr: /post/187271051912/three-houses-gt-scenarios

Just to let everyone know, I'm not sure when the next installment will be out. I've got a couple more all planned out, but some heavy stuff happened recently and I'm not sure yet how much it's going to affect the amount of time and energy I have available to me. But I'll do my best, both for you and because I am excited about this series.


	2. Duscur Cuisine

Of all the borrowers that lived in the walls and grounds of Garreg Mach Monastery there were few that saw humans regularly. The ones that went out went did so when most of the humans were sleeping, which resulted in them seeing humans rarely, and the majority stayed within the bounds of their own communities and hardly ever saw one at all. Ashe was one of the exceptions to this rule.

The Ubert family had a very important job within the borrower community; they were responsible for preparing and keeping track of the community food supply. A number of different borrowers gathered the food, but it was Ashe's family that did the cooking and told those borrowers what they needed to get. Ashe knew that, as his parents got older, he would take on more and more responsibility in the kitchen, but for now he had a different job. He had to keep an eye on the human's kitchen.

The offerings that the human cooks offered up were definitely helpful, and Ashe was grateful for them. Those that went out borrowing tended to use them as a quick meal before heading out, and the offerings worked great for that, but they didn't cover everyone. Besides, who wanted to live everyday off of someone else's leftovers? Not Ashe, that was for certain. They needed base ingredients to make their own meals, otherwise no one would get all the proper nutrients.

So it was Ashe's job to keep an eye on the human's kitchen and pantry. He'd find a place to hide and watch as shipments came in, or explore the pantry after everyone had left. His people weren't supposed to be noticed after all, and if they went about borrowing things that were running low or had just been opened then someone might start to notice. Plus, if the monastery was out of something then they would have to do without it too.

Ashe sometimes got up early enough, or stayed up late enough, to watch the humans cook. He'd be in charge of the kitchen's one day, and he wanted to know about as many recipes as possible for when that happened. Not that borrowers didn't come up with their own recipes, his father had invented several and Ashe had watched and learned how to make them, but he was hoping to add some more diversity. So he'd go to his hiding place on top of a tall cabinet and watch as the staff or students cooked and baked, hoping for some new inspiration.

This is why Ashe found himself so drawn in when, on his way to check on the pantry, he caught a new smell coming from the kitchen. The kitchen would have already been shut down by this time of the day, which made it odd that he should be smelling something cooking now.

And what a smell it was! Ashe had lived at the monastery his whole life, and he'd never smelled this particular blend of spices before. Was one of the foreign students cooking? If so, he could hardly pass up an opportunity to learn more; the kitchen hardly ever made dishes that originated outside of Fodlan. The pantry could wait, he had to find the source of that delicious smell!

Ashe scurried and climbed through the tunnels until he reached the spot where he could slip through a small hole in the wall and out onto the top of his usual cabinet. He extinguished his small flame, stepping out of the wall, then laid down and scooted close enough to the edge so he could see most of the room.

When Ashe caught sight of the human cooking, he almost forgot about his original goal. He was wearing a student uniform, but he was huge! He didn't know that student humans came in sizes that big. It seemed like his original assumption was right though, because the student had dark skin and white hair cut short, definitely different than any Fodlan born human he'd seen working in the kitchens.

It looked like he was preparing a stew with meat in it. Those were always harder to adapt due to borrowers not having access to the same kind of meats, but he was sure he could get around that with a little experimenting. He'd have to get a closer look though, because he couldn't see all the ingredients from here. Luck favored him when the student frowned at the ingredients he had available, and then turned and started walking to the pantry.

_'Now's my chance!'_ Ashe thought, as he scrambled to get out his climbing gear. If he lowered himself down the gap between the back of the cabinet and the wall, and did it close enough to the edge, he could get onto the counter and take a quick look at what ingredients he was using and make it back to his rope before the student came back.

Once he made it onto the counter, he ran over as fast as he could and started identifying ingredients. One container definitely held garlic powder, and the next held thyme, and that had a small bundle or rosemary next to it. He couldn't identify the next one just based off of smell and appearance, and had to look at the label on the container. Cumin? That was one the pantry didn't stock as often as the others, so borrowing it maybe be a bit trickier. The meat also smelled more like chicken now that he thought of it, so another bird would probably be a good substitute...

A loud creak startled him, and he whirled around to see that the doorway to the pantry was starting to open.

Ashe turned on his heal and ran for the nearest cover. He bumped into the garlic in his haste, but didn't slow down until he dove behind a drying rack. He heard the door open the rest of the way, then close again. Footsteps rang out in the quiet of the kitchen, getting progressively louder, until Ashe could feel the vibration of them through the counter top. He stayed as still as he could, and hoped that the human would go back for something else. But he heard and felt things being picked up and put back down, and the sound of utensils scraping together. Clearly the human was back to work.

_'Dang it, I thought I'd have more time.'_ Ashe bemoaned. Now he'd have to stay here until the human needed something else or was done, and who knew how long that would take. He thought about trying to get another glimpse at what the human was making, but he was already paying for his earlier risk. Taking another wouldn't be a great idea. _'At least I get to enjoy the smell a while longer.'_

The human was making new noises now, confused ones. Maybe something had gone wrong with the food, since it kinda sounded like the hum Ashe made made when a cooking experiment didn't turn out, though he was pretty sure he'd never done it so loudly.

Ashe felt something then, almost like a change in air pressure. His mind had no time to interpret its meaning before the drying rack was suddenly pulled away, and he was sitting out in the open, with no cover, and the human leaning over him.

Ashe's mind went completely blank. Like every lesson he'd ever been taught about what to do if you were spotted fell out of his head, and wouldn't come back no matter how desperately he grasped at them.

Run. That was the first option that came back to him. But as he stared wide eyed up at the stern faced human, he found he couldn't get his muscles to cooperate. They had gone stiff and refused to move.

Talk, was the second one. He knew the humans had stories about them, and that he was supposed to lean into them if he was caught. There were phrases that he'd been taught to use, he'd had to memorize and recite them before being allowed to go out on missions. But of course, the one time he actually needed them, they wouldn't come to him.

"My apologies."

The human's words rumbled through the air around him, and Ashe's mouth fell open. "W-what?"

The human straightened up so he was no longer looming, which should have been a relief, but he still flinched when the stillness broke. _'Oh sure, now you decide to move. Stupid muscles.'_

"You have my apologies. I've clearly startled you."

"Oh, um, thank you." Ashe floundered. Humans never reacted this calmly in the stories. "Uh, can I ask, how did you know I was here?"

The human pointed to of the containers. Ashe stared at it, not sure what the human was getting at, but then it clicked. That was the one he'd bumped into as he was running away. He looked down at himself, and saw that there was garlic powder sticking to his sleeve, pants, and shoes.

_'I didn't realize the box was so full, I must have tracked it all the way over here.'_ he thought is dismay.

"I didn't realize- I should be the sorry one then. I messed up your work space. That's most unbecoming of someone like me." he said, finally thinking to try and work in the human stories. _'But wait, would he even know those stories if he's not from Fodlan?'_

The student shook his head. "It's alright. The mess is very minor. I only looked into it because I feared that it was a sign of mice or rats."

"So, you aren't angry?"

"I am not."

Ashe would never have been able to tell by the boy's impassive face, but his deep voice sounded sincere enough that Ashe started to relax.

"That's good to know. Just so you know, you shouldn't have to worry about mice in here. Between us and the cats, most wild rodents don't last long."

"I see." The human nodded. The two looked at each other in silence.

"Well, uh, I should probably get going. I wasn't supposed to be out like this." Ashe said, standing up.

"Why were you then?"

Ashe stiffened. He really shouldn't talk anymore than he already had, but what if not answering made the human mad? He hadn't been before, but humans were unpredictable. His parents always said so. Still, it wasn't like telling him would endanger anyone, Ashe was the only borrower a human could conceivably lure out of the walls with this particular bait.

"I was curious about your cooking." he admitted.

"My cooking?" the confusion in the human's voice was the first real inflection the borrower had heard from him.

"Yes. It smelled wonderful, like nothing I've ever smelled here at the monastery. I wanted to know more about how it was made, to know why it smelled so good."

"I see...Thank you. However, I fear just watching may mislead you. This is a dish made by people native to Duscur, so I do not have all of the right ingredients to make it here."

Ashe's face split into a grin. "That makes it even more amazing! Trying to reproduce a recipe without the proper ingredients can be difficult, after all."

The human's eyes widened, and he started down at Ashe. The boy's face fell, and fidgeted uncomfortably. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, I am merely surprised. Most people in Fodlan react with disgust to anything that is from Duscur."

"Really? That's a shame. If what you are making tastes as good as it smells then they're really missing out." Ashe frowned. "I wish I could try it, but I really should go..."

"If you have a pressing matter to attend to, then certainly. But if you do not, I would not mind if you stayed."

Ashe's eyes flickered briefly to the kitchen door. "I don't want to be seen by anymore humans."

The human looked to the door, then back at Ashe. Then he slid the drying rack back into place, hiding the borrower from view once again. "Now you will not be."

Once Ashe's heart had settled a bit, he crouched down so he would be better hidden, then peaked around the edge of the rack. From this angle, he could see the human work, but no human entering the room would be able to see him right away. Ashe watched the human work in silence for a few minutes.

"Little one."

Ashe jumped when the human suddenly spoke and ducked back. _'I didn't hear anyone else come in...wait, he was talking to me wasn't he?'_

"Ashe. My name is Ashe."

"I am Dedue." The man replied, not looking away from his cooking. "You didn't seem disturbed when I mentioned this is from Duscur. I am clearly from Duscur as well, and yet you stay to watch me. Why is that?"

"I don't really know what Duscur has to do anything. I know that something bad happened between them and the Kingdom a few years ago, but not the details. We try not to get overly involved with human affairs, it usually doesn't end well for us."

"That is understandable." Dedue nodded gravely. "But that makes it all the more curious as to why you would stay after being caught."

"Well, I figure if you were interested in trying to hurt me, you would have done it after you first found me instead of waiting. Plus, the food smells really good."

The corners of Dedue's mouth lifted slightly. "In that case, would you like to taste test?"

"I would love to!" Ashe said eagerly. He straightened up and took a couple steps forward, then stopped. It was one thing to talk to a human from across the counter and behind something; it felt like an entirely different matter to willingly walk up to one. Despite what he'd said earlier, being without shelter in front of a human made his muscles clench and stomach churn with anxiety.

Thankfully, Ashe was spared from having to go any further. Dedue opened up a cupboard and took out a small saucer, which he spooned some of the dish onto and slid over to Ashe.

"Thanks!" Ashe knelt down, his body sagging in gratitude and relief. He picked up a piece of meat and bit into it, and suddenly he was melting for entirely different reasons. "It's delicious! What is the original dish called? What all did you use to make it?" he asked between bites.

Before Dedue could answer, the door creaked.

* * *

The little one dropped the food in his hands and bolted back to the dish rack the moment the sound was heard. Dedue moved to stand in front of it, further shielding the boy.

"Oh, Dedue there you are." Mercedes stood in the doorway. "Are you still working on it? This is the time you said to come by, isn't it?"

"It is. I've just finished."

"Wonderful! I'll help you bring it out." She started to walk forward.

"No."

It came out more forcefully than he intended, and Mercedes stopped and looked at him in surprise.

"I made this for you, so I'll serve it to you. Please, wait for me in the dining hall."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded.

"Alright, if you insist. I'm just so excited to try it!" Mercedes smiled at him and walked back out. Once she was gone, Dedue turned back. Ashe was out of sight, thankfully.

"She's gone."

No response. Dedue frowned, and pulled the rack away from the wall slightly. The little one wasn't there. A scraping sound made him look up, and his eyes caught movement at the top of a cabinet to his left. A tiny head appeared just over the edge of the cabinet, and a thin arm waved at him before both disappeared.

As he prepared bowls for himself and Mercedes, he thought about the unexpected encounter. Fodlan was certainly a strange place. Ashe did remind him of something, a story His Highness once told him. Perhaps His Highness would be willing to tell it again, so Dedue could get a clue as to how he might see the little one again.

He never got a chance to tell him the recipe after all.


	3. Better Keep Your Birds Well Trained

This was fine. Everything was fine. This was a perfectly fine test flight so far...oh who was she kidding?

Leonie pulled on the reins, trying to get her mount to turn, but it just kept going forward. She sighed, and yelled out a verbal command in time with pulling on the reins. She had to raise her voice above the wind that whipped her short hair, but the combo worked and the bird banked to the right. She let out a sigh.

"About time." she muttered. "What are we gonna do with you, huh? We can't use you for deliveries if you can't learn to change course without someone yelling. Too much risk of the humans noticing."

Granted, fliers were supposed to keep their distance from humans as much as possible, but that wasn't always feasible. Even with those areas that were closed for 'maintenance' being used as drop off points or stables, sometimes you just couldn't avoid coming withing sights of human. There were too many guards around for that. Plus there was always the chance of a student or staff member coming by at just the wrong time.

Leonie took note of the position of the sun, and shook her head. She had to get to the drop off point, so she could get the nightly supply update from the Ubert family and then go help with borrowing. So more training would have to wait for another time. Maybe she could trade some duties with Marianne and get her to do it instead. Leonie was the best with a trained bird, but no one was as good at training them as Marianne. Plus it was her favorite chore, so convincing her shouldn't be hard. Leonie gave the signal for her bird to start flying lower, and was relieved when it did after only one repeat and no yelling. Maybe the little guy wasn't hopeless after all.

The bird suddenly let out a loud peep. Leonie had just enough time to wonder why before the bird was going off in a completely different direction.

"What? No!" She pulled hard, but the bird didn't even acknowledge it. Leonie looked around, trying to figure out what had changed. Was there a hawk or owl nearby? There were none that she could see, but what she did spot made her just as worried.

There was a human sitting on the grass by the dormitories. There were a bunch of other birds gathered around him, chirping and hoping around.

"Oh no. No, up! Up!" Leonie urged as she pulled desperately on the reins. "I don't care if he's giving out food! There will be food at the drop off stable! Up!"

But the bird would not be deterred. It swooped down and landed right beside the other birds and started looking around for crumbs. As soon as they got close to the ground, Leonie started working on her escape. The bird was clearly a lost cause at this point, so she'd have to try and make her way back on foot. Jeralt wouldn't let himself be caught over something like this, so neither would she!

She started unlacing her harness. It was more difficult than normal with her mount bouncing around, and she tried to get it to hold still, but it was no use. The noises weren't helping her concentrate either. She didn't have time to look, but the exaggerated chewing noises gave her the impression that the human wasn't giving the birds food on purpose. He was just eating that messily. Her stomach turned a bit when the human gulped down another bite. She'd never been near a human eating before, and now she knew she didn't want to be.

"Oh, hey!"

If the booming voice hadn't startled her, then the birds' sudden flight would have finished the job. She had just managed to get the last of the fastenings undone, and had been stepping out of the harness when the noise came. So when her bird flew off without her, she fell backward into the grass. She let out a grunt of pain as her back hit the ground, and streaks of green filled her vision.

"Woah, you okay, little guy?"

A shadow fell over Leonie, and her mouth fell open. _'Goddess, what do they feed these kids here?!'_

She'd assumed the humans was a student, and based on what she could see of his clothes she was right. But she'd never seen a student with so much muscle before! She could see each one rippling as the boy's broad face shifted into a frown.

"Come on, say something. You didn't bump your head or anything did you?"

He leaned over more, trying to see her better, and Leonie's faculties returned to her. She jumped up and sprinted for the nearest cover, which happened to be an ornamental bush.

"Hey wait!"

Leonie did not wait. She didn't stop running until she got to the bush and had climbed into it. She clung to the branch in front of her, and tried to get her breathing under control. It wanted to come out in harsh pants after pushing herself to run as fast as she could, not to mention the shock of the human seeing her. She tried to remember the quiet breathing exercises Jeralt had taught her, but it was hard with how tense she was. The human saw her run over here, so he would be coming soon and she'd have to figure out how to deal with that and even if she got out of this she'd have to tell Jeralt what happened and...

And...he wasn't coming. He clearly saw where she ran, yet she didn't hear any signs of him chasing after her. She shifted a bit so she could peer at him through the twigs and leaves. By the looks of it, he hadn't even moved from where he was sitting.

_'Just what is he playing at?'_

"Hey."

Leonie braced herself, but only on instinct. It was only one word, but it was much softer and quieter than anything else he'd said so far.

"I'm sorry about your birds. I got a friend that keeps telling me I gotta be more careful with people smaller than me, and with critters, but I always forget. Sorry for scaring you, little guy."

"I'm a girl!" She shouted, then immediately pressed her face into the nearest branch. Stupid, just because other borrowers didn't get that didn't mean she should go around yelling it at humans! Who cared what this guy thought!?

"Oh, sorry for that too then. I'll just call you little servant then, since that works both ways, and here, you can have this."

The broad human shifted closer, and Leonie watched him warily. She was ready to bolt again when she saw his hand coming forward, but stopped herself when she saw what he was holding.

"Sorry I don't have any meat left from my sandwich, but I still have some bread. You can have it as an offering, little servant."

Leonie's face screwed up. She didn't like the new title much better; she'd never been a fan of pretending to be something she wasn't. Still, she knew those church stories helped protect her fellow borrowers, so she wasn't about to argue it.

"The Goddess is pleased that you know the stories so well, and is grateful for your offering." She recited dutifully.

"She is? That's good to hear." The human said cheerfully.

"Indeed. Now I humbly ask that you leave the offering for me to gather, and allow me to go on my way so I may continue her work."

"Aw, do you have to go so soon? I was hoping we could talk a little. Do you come around here often? I could start keeping some meat with me in case I see you again."

_'We're definitely not touching the second question.' _she thought, though something else sparked her curiosity. "Why do you keep bringing up meat? The servants have no particular preference for it." This was blatantly untrue for some borrowers she knew, but she was pretty sure none of the church's stories said anything about the little servants and meat.

"Because you're so small! You gotta eat plenty of meat if you wanna grow big and strong." He said confidently. Leonie tilted her head in confusion.

"You realize that we're supposed to be small, right?"

"Well yeah, but you can still get stronger. You gotta be strong if you're gonna be doing stuff for the Goddess, right?"

Leonie had to fight a small smile. She couldn't help it, he was just so earnest. She shook herself; she needed to focus and get out of here before more humans came along.

"The Goddess is touched by your thoughtfulness." She said, getting back into character. She couldn't help but add a little something though. "but she would like to remind you her servants can't fly on birds if they get too big."

"Huh, I didn't think about that. That's probably why most pegasus riders are smaller too huh?"

"I wouldn't know about such things, but I know I must get going. Her work calls to me. So please leave the offering so I may go on my way."

"Okay, I get it. You need help getting anywhere? I could give you a lift."

_'This guy just doesn't give up does he?'_ "The work of the little servants is not to be seen or interfered with." she tried.

"I don't want to interfere in anything, I wanna help. It's the least I can do after I scared away your ride. You don't have to worry about being seen either, because most everyone is either working on homework or at the training grounds. I'm just out here because I had to get more food for my muscles."

_'Looks like your muscles have been fed enough to me.'_ she thought. Then she thought on his proposal. It would be hard to make it back on her own, especially if she was carrying any food with her. Maybe she could just stash it somewhere and free up her hands for climbing and come back for it later. She wasn't exactly outfitted for a full borrowing mission right now. This was supposed to be just a training flight, after all. She'd have to get her bearings too, since she wasn't completely sure where along the dorm building they'd landed. She usually only flew over this spot so a higher vantage would help her figure all that out. Plus, despite how loud he'd been, this guy was being pretty nice, and really did seem to buy into the church stories so he wouldn't hurt her. Probably. Hopefully.

"I just don't want you to run into any cats, you know? They show up here more when people are away for a while."

Well, that settled it in Leonie's mind. The human might hurt her, but the cats definitely would. The monastery borrowers hadn't made many holes to the front of the dorms, because they didn't really have a need to go out there, so there wouldn't be many places for Leonie to hide from them.

"Very well. I'll consider it an additional offering if you help me get to a safer area."

"Great! Hop on!"

How had the human got so close so quickly? He was suddenly right in front of the bush and holding out his hands for her to climb onto, the piece of bread sitting in the middle of his palms. Leonie swallowed, trying to steel herself. She'd accepted the offer, but she'd never actually been held by a human before. But if Jeralt could do it when he was called upon by Lady Rhea, then she could do it with this boy. This boy...maybe that was part of the problem.

"May I know the name of my escort?" That sounded formal enough for a Goddess's servant right?

"Oh yeah! My name's Raphael. What's yours?"

"Um, Leonie." She said, surprised he'd thought to ask.

"Nice to meet you, Leonie. Let's get you somewhere safer." He held his hands a little closer.

Leonie took a deep breath, and stepped off the branch onto his palm. She almost lost her balance, but caught herself in time. She hadn't expected the skin to have so much give with such big muscles under it. She took smaller steps after that, and carefully made her way to the center of his hands. She picked up the bread, then sank down on her knees. She stayed still and waited a moment, but nothing happened. She looked up, and saw the boy was looking at her with parted lips and big eyes.

"What's that look for?" she demanded.

Raphael suddenly grinned. "I just always forget how cute you guys are!"

Leonie's mouth fell open. "What?! That's- I'm not cute!" She spluttered.

"You are! Does the Goddess make all the little servants cute on purpose?"

"I, that's not, I don't..." this had never been in any of the scripts Leonie had played out in training. "Let's just go."

"You got it."

Raphael stood slowly, but Leonie still had to resist the urge to drop the bread and brace herself more against the hands beneath her. This felt very different than flying on a bird. Though, in a strange way, the slight pulse of a heartbeat she could feel against her legs did make her think of the rhythmic beating of a bird's wings.

Thankfully, Raph was right, they didn't meet anyone as he walked down the path. After getting a sense of where she was, she directed him to the closest area that was 'undergoing maintenance'. She made him put her down before actually getting there though, no sense in giving him reason to associate those areas with her people.

It took some insisting on her part, but she convinced Raphael that she'd be safe from there and watched him walk away. Once he was out of sight, she ran for the barricade that blocked the area off and slipped through it. She breathed a little easier once she did, but kept running. All that talk had put her behind schedule, and she refused to be late on top of getting seen.

She thought about his 'cute' comment, and blushed. That was getting left out of the report. She wasn't a little kid anymore! She wasn't cute!

Wait...he'd talked about how cute 'you guys' are. Had he met other borrowers before? Could it have been someone from here? She'd have to ask around.

She'd try and keep Bernie out of it though. If someone even suggested the idea of getting caught by a human to Bernie she probably wouldn't leave her room for a week.

* * *

Raphael went back to his training with renewed vigor. He'd met one of the Goddess's little servants! He couldn't wait to tell Ignatz! Raphael couldn't help smiling at the thought of how happy his friend would be. Oh man, he was so excited that he might have to stop for another snack.

He'd keep a little jerky or something on him from now on too, in case he saw Leonie again. Even with what she said about the birds, he was still pretty sure she should be getting more meat. She'd been so light! Almost as light as Ignatz. So he figured she could do with a little bit of bulking up.


End file.
